In the Women Entrepreneur series My First Moves, we talk to founders about the pivotal moment when they decided to turn their business idea into a reality — and the first steps they took to make that happen.

Natasha Case has long been fascinated by the intersection of food and design. While studying architecture and design, Case was always pulled in the direction of food, and saw it as a medium to talk about design and create additional access around the discipline. But after graduation, a promising job at Disney took up her professional attention, and the meeting point between food and design became little more than a hobby.

Then, a shift: A chance meeting with Freya Estreller, who would become her co-founder, as well as the 2008 recession, helped Case take the leap into entrepreneurship, and she launched the hand-crafted ice cream brand, Coolhaus, in 2009.

Ten years later, the Los Angeles-based company is a fan favorite brand, with a national retail presence, a seemingly endless collection of flavors and big plans for the future. Here how Case turned a hobby into a budding empire.

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